Ken's Blog

“And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” (Luke 8:15)Have you ever noticed that hospital doctors – especially ER doctors – always wear a stethoscope around their necks? One of the first things they do with a patient is to check the heart. Why is that? It’s because the heart is key and crucial. We can handle a poorly functioning gall bladder or kidney, but if the heart starts to fail, look out, it’s Red Alert!So here’s the question: How’s your heart as it relates to God? I recently had a “run in” with someone and believe me, I was ticked! After calming down and trying to give this situation over to God, I realized that my heart had a problem. If I were to put on a spiritual stethoscope, what would I discover?The Sower And The SeedIn this great parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus compares the good soil, the soil that receives the seed (the Word of God) and grows, with an honest and good heart. Is that true of your heart? It certainly was not the case recently with me. I needed Dr. Jesus to listen to my heart and write me out a script (His Word) for healing. If Dr. Jesus were to listen to your heart would He remove the stethoscope and tell you that your heart was honest and good? What exactly does it mean to have a heart like that?

An honest and good heart looks in the mirror and faces the awful facts. A person with a heart like that doesn’t make excuses or blame others or lie to himself about his sins and moral failures. He does not hide from the light of God’s truth, but he comes to the light so that forgiveness, cleansing and healing can take place.

An honest and good heart desires to do whatever is necessary to be right with God.

An honest and good heart knows “life is not about me and my agenda; it’s about Jesus and His glory.”

An honest and good heart is soft and tender and ready to receive from God.

The Good NewsWhat do you do if you don’t do so well on the heart test? Do you get mad at the doctor and disregard the results of the test? I hope not. That would be insanely foolish. The right thing to do is get to work doing the right things for your heart.In the parable of the sower and the seed, the good soil was that which had been cultivated, plowed, de-rocked and de-weeded. That same work needs to be done in our hearts through genuine repentance, confession of sin, and turning to the Lord.God says in Hosea 10:12, “Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”

Let’s humbly ask God to change our hearts and make it honest and good…and He will. He longs to answer that kind of prayer.From My Heart To Yours,Ken